Combined sage-brush digger and land-roller.



No. 874,538. PATENTEDDEG.24,1907.

'J. W. POWELL.

COMBINED SAGE BRUSH DIGGBR AND LAND ROLLER. I

APPLICATION FILED MAY 22, 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

JQWPOQQH No. 874,538. PATENTED DEG. 24, 1907. J. w. POWELL.

COMBINED SAGE BRUSH BIGGER AND LAND ROLLER.

APPLIOATION PILED MAY 22, 1907- 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

JAMES W. POWELL, OF ARLETA, OREGON.

I COMBINED SAGE-BRUSH DIGGER AND LAND-ROLLER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 24, 1907.

Application filed May 22, 1907. Serial No. 375,072.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES W. PowELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Arleta, in the county of Multnomah and State of Oregon, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Combined Sage-Brush Digger and Land-Roller; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in a combined sage brush digger and land roller and my object is to provide means to hold the roller from rotation, whereby the same will be dragged over the earths surface.

A further object is to provide means on the surface of the roller for engaging the earths surface and destroying plants or sage brush growing thereon, and a still further object is to provide an adjustable holding means for the roller whereby the digging means on the.

roller may be set at different angles.

Other objects and advantages will be hereinafter referred to and more particularly pointed out in the claims. In the accom anying drawings which are made a part of t 's application, Figure 1 is a top plan view of my improved roller and digger. Fig. 2 is a sectional view thereof as seen on line 22, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the bridge over the central portion of the roller. Fig. 4 is a erspective view of a latch employed for holding the roller against rotation. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the supporting means for the latch, and, Fig. 6 is a erspective view of a lever employed for re easing the latch from the roller.

Referring to the drawings in which similar reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, 1 indicates a frame, which is preferably rectangular, to which is rotatably mounted the usual, or any preferred, form of roller 2, such as is used in pulverizing soil, said roller being provided at each end with an axle 3, which axles are rotatably mounted in bearings 4 carried by the frame 1.

In some localities a plant known as sage brush is very prevalent and the growth is so prolific as to crowd out other lants, and in order to destroy the sage brush with a minimum amount of labor, I extend longitudinally of the roller and secure thereto in any preferred manner angle bars 5 and 6, one section of said angle bars being flushed with the face of the roller, while the opposite section thereof extends at right angles to the face of the roller, and this section is adapted to engage the surface of the earth and destroy the plants growing thereon, and in order to hold one of the angle bars in engagement with the earths surface, I provide a latch 7, which is pivotally secured to the rear section of the frame 1.

The forward end of the latch 7 is provided with a detent 10, which'is adapted to engage the angle bars as they are moved into engagement therewith, and when one of the angle bars is so engaged by the detent, the roller is held against rotation, and the angle bars are so arranged around the periphery of the roller that when one of the angle bars is in engagement with the detent, the other angle bar is in engagement with the earths surface, and, as best shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the angle bar 5 is in engagement with the earths surface, while the angle bar 6 is engaged by the detent.

Ihe pivoted end of the latch 7 is provided with a plurality of openings 11, through which is adapted to take a pivot pin 12, and by providing the openings 11, the latch may be adjustably mounted between the ears 8, the object in providing the adjustment for the latch being to change the pitch of the angle bars with respect to the earths surface, that is to say, when the pivot pin is in the opening farthest from the end of the latch, the angle bar 5 will be held in the position shown in Fig. 2, or, in other words, sli htly forward of the vertical axial plane of the roller, and when the pivot pin is engaged with the central opening, the angle bars 5 will be in line with the vertical axial plane of the roller and in the rear thereof when the pivot pin is in engagement with the opening adj acent the end of the latch.

The forward end of the latch 7 is held against undue lateral movement by descending through a slot 13 in an arched bridge 14, said bridge extending over the longitudinal center of the roller 2 and is secured at each end to the frame 1 in any preferred manner, and it will be seen that as long as the lever is entered in the slot 13, the same will be held against lateral movement.

In dragging the roller over the earths surface, the angle bar engaging the earth destroys the plants in front of the roller and as soon as a certain amount of the plants have collected in front of the roller, the detent is released from the uppermost angle bar, which will allow the roller to rotate until the next succeeding angle bar engages the detent, and by this means, the roller is allowed to pass over the collected plants and leaves them in a pile to be removed or otherwise destroyed, and to readily elevate the latch 7, the free end thereof is adapted to engage a horizontally disposed lever 16, said lever being pivotally mounted on the forward portion of the bridge 14. The opposite arm of the lever 16 is extended substantially vertical upon its pivot point, so that the operator may place his heel against the upwardly extending arm and swin the lever upon its pivot point, which will result in liftin the detent out of engagement with the an fe bars.

The lever 16 is normally held in position to allow the detent to readily extend into engagement with the angle bars by means of a spring 17, which is spirally disposed around the pivot bolt 18 of the lever, one end of said spring engaging the vertically disposed portion of the lever, while the opposite end thereof engages the upper surface of the bridge 14, thereby normally holding the horizontal portion of the lever below the finger 15 when the latch is in its lowered position.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a very cheap and proficient device for destroying growing plants such as sage brush, or the like, and it will further be seen that by re moving the anchor bars from the roller, said roller may be used as a pulverizer, or, if desired, the device may be employed for leveling or smoothing the earths surface instead of a drag, the weight of the roller at the same time pulverizing the soil.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with a roller, and a frame thereon; of a pair of angle bars diametrically oppositely .disposed and extending longitudinally on said roller, means to engage one of said bars and hold said roller against rotation whereby the opposite angle bars will engage the soil.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with a roller and a frame thereon of a pair of angle bars oppositely disposed on said roller, a latch carried by said frame adapted to engage one of said angle bars and hold the opposite angle bar in engagement with the soil.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination with a roller and a frame therefor of angle bars on said roller, a latch pivotally and adjustably secured to said frame, a detent on said latch adapted to engage one of said angle bars and hold the roller against rotation, and means to release the detent from the angle bar.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination with a roller and a frame therefor of angle bars on said roller, a latch, means to adjustably mount one end of said latch on said frame, a detent at the free end of said latch adapted to engage said angle bars, a finger at the extreme outer end of said latch and means to engage said finger and elevate the latch, whereby the detent will be disengaged from the angle bar.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination with a roller, having a frame therefor; of angle bars on said roller, a bridge carried by said frame, and extending over said roller, said bridge having a slot therein, a head secured to said frame, a latch pivotally and adjustably secured to said head, a detent on said latch adapted to engage said angle bars and hold the roller against rotation, a lever pivotally mounted on said bridge and adapted to engage the extended end of said latch, and means to hold said lever in its normal position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES W. POWELL.

Witnesses:

JAMEs C. GILL, GEO. W. BRANT. 

